


When a Queen becomes a Cat

by YoungTrust



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Basically the Saltier Version of my Reine Ruse Au, F/F, I really didn't mean to make it this salty, People asked me to, Please Forgive me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:52:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19410229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoungTrust/pseuds/YoungTrust
Summary: Chloe Bourgeois is far from perfect, but after arriving home from a trip with her mother, she sees that everything she left behind has been turned upside down and ends up becoming a friend and confidant (and maybe more) to her hero. One thing's for sure, she's not going to let Ladybug down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laulink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laulink/gifts).



> Hello all! Quite a few people, of which the fabulous Laulink was the first, suggested that I write and EVEN SALTIER version of my Reine Ruse AU wherein Adrien refuses to learn from his mistakes and Chloe ends up with the black cat miraculous, so here it is!
> 
> The first three chapters will be the same as in my Reine Ruse AU, with the divergence point in chapter four. 
> 
> That all being said, I'm trying to keep the Reine Ruse AU to a lesser degree of salt and I'm working to redeem a lot of people or at least make them learn from their mistakes. This is not going to be the case in this AU. I was asked to provide extreme salt, and that is what this is going to be. As a result, people (excluding Chloe and Marinette) aren't really going to learn from their mistakes in this fic. We're going full-out no-holds-barred salt here folks, so if that's not your cup of tea, this might not be the story for you. 
> 
> I hope that everyone who wanted to see this enjoys it!

_**Marinette** _

It had happened again. She’d arrived at school late, in a mad rush. She hadn’t been able to find her sketchbook that morning, but she knew that she’d taken it with her the previous day. She’d been working non-stop for the past three weeks on a new set of designs – there was going to be another design competition at the collegé, conceptual designs this time rather than physical prototypes and the prize was a coveted junior internship at Agreste Fashions. It was everything she’d ever dreamed of and she’d poured her heart and soul into the designs she was going to submit.

She hadn’t let the book out of her sight for the past few weeks except for the previous day when she’d needed to run across the building to pick up some documents for Miss. Bustier for her class representative duties – documents that hadn’t even been there. She should have known that something was wrong, but between being Ladybug and the competition she hadn’t slept in two days and she was so _tired_. Given how things had been since Lila returned to school, it shouldn’t have surprised her to arrive to the sound of her classmates loudly congratulating the transfer student about her victory in the design competition and it really shouldn’t have surprised her to see _her_ design book in Lila’s hands.

After that, her memory blurred. She’d been so angry and distraught and tired, and she had _tried_ to explain, but no one had listened, berating her again for her jealousy and her hatred and she just couldn’t _do_ it anymore. She’d run away, but as she left she saw Chloe Bourgeois, newly returned from a trip to New York with her mother, scoff and glare at Lila, speaking up to draw attention away from Marinette. She hadn’t even gone home – she’d just shrugged off Tikki’s attempts to console her and transformed into Ladybug, spending the day running across the rooftops and saving kittens from trees and smiling even though her heart was breaking and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to put it back together again.

Before she knew it night had fallen. She didn’t want to go home – not yet. There would be questions about why she’d run from school and her parents were so busy and she didn’t deserve to trouble them with her problems – they worked so hard and they deserved a better daughter… She looked up from her musings as she felt the first raindrops of a storm on her face as the clouds broke open. She needed to get inside, the last thing Tikki deserved was to get sick when she already had to deal with a Ladybug that had so many problems.

She took stock of where she was with surprise. The last thing that Marinette Dupain-Cheng would have expected when she woke up that morning was to be standing on the balcony of the girl who’d bullied her for years, wrapped in Tikki’s comfortable magic and shaking, tears still streaming down her face. She didn’t know why her feet had led her to the Grand Paris of all places, but her mind kept stubbornly replaying those few moments when Chloe scoffed and actually questioned Lila.

Besides, she desperately needed to talk to someone. Her parents were so incredibly busy and she didn’t want to trouble them. Chat had been growing increasingly pushy since Frozer and, although she wanted to believe in the best in her partner, she was afraid he’d feel like she _owed_ him something if she went to him for help. Tikki was wonderfully understanding, but she was an immortal god and despite all her years of experience there were some things she just couldn’t understand. Normally she’d talk to Alya, but… No. The fact was that she didn’t really have anyone to talk to or anywhere else to go. Making up her mind, she raised a red and black spotted hand and hesitantly knocked on the glass doors.

_____________________________________________________________________

**_Chloe_ **

The last thing Chloe Bourgeois would have expected when she woke up that morning was for Ladybug to knock on her balcony door in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, she was nothing if not adaptable, especially for her idol. She adjusted her silk pajama robe and ran for the door to let Ladybug in.

“Ladybug! It’s so good to see you? Is there an akuma? Do you need my help? Did you stop by to say hello to your _favorite_ civili—” Chloe cut herself off. The darkness had prevented her from noticing it, but the light that spilled out of her suite made it abundantly clear – Ladybug was _crying_.

“Can I come in?” the heroine’s voice was unusually small.

Wordlessly Chole moved out of the way. Ladybug took short, sad steps past her, pausing listlessly when she reached the middle of the room.

Oh god, what was she supposed to do?! As far as Chloe knew, there was no established protocol for dealing with crying superheroes bursting in on one in one’s pajamas. And that didn’t even touch the fact that Ladybug’s eyes were so much more _blue_ this close and Chloe was in her _very_ short and _very_ thin pajamas. She shook her head. It was apparent that Ladybug needed her, and if Queen Bee couldn’t help, then Chloe Bourgeois would have to do. She hesitantly walked over to Ladybug.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The words were uncharacteristically quiet and soft. Chloe rifled through her memories, desperately trying to remember how Adrien’s mother had consoled her after so many tears in her childhood. It hurt, to think back to then, but if anyone was worth it, Ladybug was. Ladybug believed in her when no one else did and she’d never admit just how _good_ that made her feel inside.

Ladybug turned towards her, tears still leaking out of her large, bluebell eyes. Without warning, she shot forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Chloe, breaking into incoherent sobs. It felt like forever before the spotted heroine stopped shaking like a leaf, tears drying to sniffles. Chloe awkwardly kept rubbing circles onto her back the whole time, hugging Ladybug as best as she could even as her mind whirled at a hundred miles an hour. What in the ever-loving- _fuck_ was happening? Who could have made Ladybug so upset? It was a good thing she didn’t have her miraculous or she’d venom whatever bastard did this to her… Then again, she could probably still claw someone’s eyes out outside of the suit as well… No, Ladybug needed a shoulder to cry on, not a homicidal sometimes-superhero on the warpath.

Chloe took a deep breath in and maneuvered them so that they were sitting down on one of the plush sofas in her suite. She moved to extricate herself from Ladybug and dammit if the way she tried to cling to Chloe with a small whimper didn’t give her feelings.

She awkwardly cleared her throat. “You need to stay hydrated. You’ve been – I’m going to call for some refreshments. Did you want anything in particular?”

Ladybug wiped her eyes on the back of a spotted glove. “Cookies, if you have them,” she said quietly. “I’ve been out for hours, I need to recharge.”

Chloe nodded, not quite thinking of the magnitude of _that_ statement and picked up the phone at the side of her bed. She didn’t even wait for whoever was on the other end to say hello. “Yes, I need a mug of warm milk and a plate of cookies as quickly as possible. Understood?” She hung up as soon as it was clear that someone had heard her and went back over to Ladybug. “It should be here in a few minutes.”

Ladybug nodded silently.

Chloe sighed and braced herself. Clearly, Ladybug needed someone to talk to and for some unknown reason, she’d come to her of all people, so she was going to have to do her best. This really wasn’t her strong suit. “Alright,” she said briskly, breaking the silence. “As many _lovely_ qualities as I have, I have to admit that I’m wondering why you came here tonight. Clearly, you’re upset. Why not talk to that mangy alley cat about it? Or a friend from the other side of the mask? As much as it pains me to admit, I haven’t been… the best person in the past. It seems like there’s someone out there who could give you a hell of a lot better advice about whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

Chloe didn’t miss the way Ladybug flinched, first when she brought up Chat Noir and then civilian friends. Oh, something was definitely going on and somebody was _sooooo_ going to pay for this.

Ladybug twisted her hands together. “I…. I can’t,” she said. “I… I don’t think I have any friends outside of the suit anymore.”

“What happened?” Chloe questioned, trying to make her voice as quiet and reassuring as possible. It felt like squeezing into a too-small shirt, but it must have worked because Ladybug continued.

“They betrayed me.” Her voice broke. “Rena Rouge, Carapace, I knew them both as civilians… I trusted them with the miraculous because they were my best friends. But they took the word of someone they barely know over me and they _hate_ me.” She paused. “They were all I had. Before this year, I didn’t have any friends at all. They were my very first.” A watery smile broke over her face and vanished. “I tried so _hard_ to be a good friend – I didn’t want them to leave me alone again. I was just trying to protect them from being deceived and manipulated… Oh god, it _hurts_. It hurts so much.”

Fat tears rolled down Ladybug’s cheeks and Chloe’s heart about broke in her chest. If there was one thing that she understood so _very_ well… She scooted closer to Ladybug and wrapped the heroine in as tight a hug as she could manage. She could feel as the shoulder of her robe was dampened by Ladybug’s tears.

“I’m —- I’m so sorry,” she said. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that.” The emotion was getting too thick in her voice too _oh god she could not cry right now keep it together Bourgeois_. She took a breath and carried on. “From where I’m standing it sounds like you were a much better friend than they deserved and they didn’t return the favor all that well. I’m not — I don’t have much experience with things like this. I wish that I knew what I could say to make it better, but I don’t. All I can think of are plans to hit them so hard they’ll fly right out of Paris and not bother you again, but you seem like the kind of person who wouldn’t really be okay with that – I’m rambling, I’m sorry.”

Ladybug choked off a laugh into Chloe’s shoulder and raised her head. “Thank you, Chloe,” She said with a watery and tentative smile as she wiped the tears off of her face.

Just then a knock sounded on the door to the suite. “Miss Bourgeois? Your refreshments have arrived.” Chloe bustled over and opened the door just wide enough to grab the tray before slamming it in the face of whatever poor soul that had delivered it.

She offered the plate of cookies and the steaming mug of milk to Ladybug. “Here.”

Ladybug set the plate next to her on the couch and wrapped shaking fingers around the mug. “Thank you.”

As she sipped the milk, Chloe’s mind went back to something else she’d said earlier. She didn’t quite know how to bring it up in a way that wouldn’t hurt, but if she was right, she needed to talk to Ladybug about it.

“So… you said that things were pretty tense with your civilian friends. Why aren’t you talking to Chat Noir?”

Ladybug froze, looking down at her lap. “It’s probably silly,” she started and stopped. Chloe didn’t speak, only looking at Ladybug until the heroine continued. “He’s always been so flirty and I think that’s just the way he is, so I try to put up with it. It’s just… lately, he’s been… different. When we were fighting Frozer he nearly quit because I wouldn’t return his feelings and ever since Oblivio he’s been acting like it’s a given that we’re going to be in a relationship and he’s getting so _pushy_ and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he’s been more and more flirty and handsy and I’m worried that the people of Paris will think that we aren’t taking our jobs seriously. I’m worried that if I’m too upfront about turning him down again that he’ll just disappear and we’ll lose to Hawkmoth because of my _stupid_ feelings. He’s making me feel really, really uncomfortable.” She winced as she said the last part.

Chloe’s blood was about boiling in her veins. Being Adrien’s friend had given her a front-row seat to quite a few cases of stalking and sexual harassment. Chat Noir was a _superhero,_ dammit. If Ladybug should have felt safe with anyone, it should be her partner. 

Chloe softly rested her hands on Ladybug’s cheeks and held her face up so that she could look her in the eyes. “Listen to me. I know that you want to make excuses for him, but I want you to know that what he is doing to you is _wrong_. It is harassment and emotional manipulation. He’s holding your sense of responsibility to the city hostage to cater to his own ego and desires and that is not right. God, I don’t know how you can go about fixing that, but I want you to know that you shouldn’t have to put up with that shit _ever_.”

Ladybug’s eyes were blown wide in shock. “But he –”

“Shh. I want you to really think about how he’s been treating you. It sounds like you care about your friends a lot. What would you do if he’d been behaving this way towards Rena?”

Ladybug was still for a long moment and then let loose a watery chuckle and shook her head. “I’d probably kick his ass.” 

Chloe smiled ruefully, “There you go then. Now, you said that you had to recharge. There’s a bathroom just down the hall. Go feed your kwami, I bet she’s worried about you.”

Ladybug nodded and grabbed the plate of cookies, slowly making her way down the hall.

Chloe sagged back into the couch and watched her, rage and sadness at what had happened to Ladybug and quiet awe and relief that she had somehow managed to _help_ , to say the right thing as _herself_ for once. She let her own tears fall and prayed for the first time in years for the strength to be able to continue to help Ladybug and to be somehow able to rescue her heroine as Ladybug had rescued her from herself. 


	2. Chapter 2

_ Tikki _

Tikki was worried about her bug. Of course, she loved all of her chosen deeply, but Marinette was so  _ young _ . She was also the first in such a long time to have such an unbridled joy in creation. Tikki could feel her powers sing in harmony with Marinette’s soul as the girl drew and sewed, knitted and baked, and tended the steadily growing garden on her rooftop balcony. And then there were the days when her young chosen would do something so  _ reckless _ or chaotic and it would strike Tikki like a bolt to the chest how much Marinette could remind her of Plagg. 

She  _ knew _ that it was stupid and illogical, but sometimes when she slept at night, she selfishly dreamt that the girl was really  _ theirs _ . Beyond loving Marinette as a partner and a friend and a mentor, Tikki loved her as a mother. And it was tearing her apart inside to see her chosen,  _ hers _ , so distraught. She tried to be there for Marinette as best as she could, pressing into her side from inside her purse and offering encouraging words. She had never wanted quite so badly to be human, to have arms to hug the child of her spirit with. She knew she was being selfish, she would never dream of taking Marinette away from her human mother who had those arms, ready for hugging, if only she could persuade her chosen to make use of them! 

She cursed everything that she’d said to Marinette in the beginning. Lessons to make her into a better Ladybug be damned, she’d somehow managed to convince her chosen that the weight of the entire world rested on her small shoulders and that she didn’t deserve to ask for help in carrying her burdens and  _ nothing _ she said now could convince the girl otherwise. Plagg’s wayward chosen certainly wasn’t helping either! The next time she saw her other half, she was going to have  _ words _ with him about disciplining his kit. 

She had to admit that she was actually grateful for Chloe Bourgeois. That wasn’t something she thought she’d ever say. She’d disliked the girl from the moment that she’d first heard her belittling her chosen from her hiding place in Marinette’s bag. That being said, for some reason, she was the only rock that Marinette seemed willing to cling to in the storm she was fighting through. It had been a week since she’d first seen her bug fall into the Bourgeois girl’s arms through Marinette’s transformed eyes. She’d found herself accompanying her chosen to Chloe’s balcony every night since seeing a new side of the blonde as she treated her chosen as the treasure she was. 

She was relieved that Marinette was allowing someone to pick up her broken pieces. She wished she could do more to help, but she would be there, right by her chosen’s side until the very end, and that would have to be enough. 

_ Marinette _

Walking into class the morning after she had fallen apart in the comforting arms of the girl who’d bullied her for years was easier than Marinette expected. She looked up as she crossed the threshold of the room. It wasn’t unusual to see the entire class gathered around Lila and Adrien’s desk, or, unfortunately, the death glares the group sent toward her as soon as she’d come through the door.

“Good morning.” She hated how her greeting was quieter than it had been since the previous year, since before she’d met her first real friends. Now she was back to wondering what awful things would happen if she spoke too loudly or took up too much space in this room. She couldn’t afford to be further targeted by Lila, she couldn’t afford to be akumatized. If that meant returning herself to the sidelines, that was what she was going to have to do. 

“Marinette!” It was Alya, voice strong with the righteous anger that used to fill Marinette with awe and pride in her friend. “How could you?!”

Marinette wasn’t quite sure what exactly she was supposed to have done, but she shrank back from Alya’s anger nonetheless. She must have looked confused, because the class bristled. 

“I’m sure there’s some explanation,” Lila simpered tearfully from the middle of the group. 

“Explanation?!” It was a wonder Alya’s screech didn’t deafen her. “She convinced Gabriel Agreste that you stole your designs for the contest from her because she was jealous you won the internship! There is no explanation or excuse to defend what a  _ bitch _ she’s being!” 

_ E tu, Alya? _ Marinette’s jaw dropped. Lila had been discovered? But, she never talked to Mr. Agreste. She’d cried and given it up as a lost cause. Even if she could somehow get in contact with Mr. Agreste, she’d die before letting her idol know the trouble she was facing or how weak she was. But if she hadn’t told Mr. Agreste that Lila had stolen her designs, who had? 

_ Chloe _

It had been a week since Chloe returned from vacation with her mother to find that everything had somehow gone  _ wrong _ at school in her absence, the entire class fawning over the shady Italian exchange student who was obviously lying through her teeth and glaring daggers at the little-miss-too-perfect-for-words Marinette Dupain-Cheng as they’d rarely even dared glare at  _ her _ in the past. When Cesaire of all people had led the charge in tearing down Marin--- Dupain-Cheng for claiming that Liar-la’s contest-winning designs were actually hers, Chole found herself breaking into the conversation (not to be  _ nice _ or anything) out of sheer shock. She left the class alone for two weeks to spend some (admittedly disappointing) time with her mother, and they apparently no longer had two brain cells gathered between them. 

After the disastrous Monday of her return, Chloe had initially planned not to do anything about the strange situation at school. She had no interest in Lila’s plans, whatever they were, and it was frankly amusing to see her holier-than-thou classmates fawning over the liar. Then, after Ladybug had left that first night, Chloe had found herself, quite against her will, thinking of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, running out of the classroom, tears streaming down her face. Something about Ladybug’s story had reminded her of the sudden changes in the class’ attitude toward the blue-haired designer and, even if she’d never been and would likely never be friends with the baker’s daughter, she could certainly appreciate the appeal of working out her frustrations with Ladybug’s traitor friends on the class full of turncoats she  _ did _ have sway over. Besides, it had become significantly more fun to irritate Dupain-Cheng since she’d begin to grow a backbone and it irked her to see her rival losing the confidence she’d somehow obtained over something so  _ stupid _ . 

It had been easy to get her father to request a word with Gabriel Agreste who, though a recluse, wasn’t stupid enough to ignore a request to talk to the mayor of the city his fashion empire was based in. It was almost physically painful for Chloe to tell her father to inform Mr. Agreste that Lila had stolen her designs from Marinette, but she admitted that it would look like a repeat of the derby hat competition if she didn’t have proof that Lila was lying, and she’d learned the hard way about the lengths her classmate went to in order to prevent the theft of her designs. She told her father to suggest that Mr. Agreste should turn the designs upside down and inspect the stitching that Marinette was sure to have hidden somewhere in her images. 

She’d expected to go to class the next day and wade through a sea of satisfying guilt and self-deprecation as her classmates groveled at Marinette’s feet, but it appeared that she’d underestimated either how good a liar Lila was how utterly ridiculous her classmates could be. Lila had somehow managed to convince them that Marinette had tricked Gabriel-fucking-Agreste into believing that Lila was a liar because she was jealous. Chloe was well aware (and somewhat disappointed) that there did not appear to be a vindictive bone in Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s body. She’d seen Marinette’s perfect parents and home long ago and had terrorized her for years, hoping that at some point she’d snap and show that she wasn’t so perfect after all, but no matter what she did Marinette never rose to the bait. She’d even thrown Chloe a fucking party when she’d become Queen Bee. It was thus completely un-fucking-believable to her that the entire class was buying this shit. She was half certain at this point that if Jagged Stone himself came to class and said that he’d never had a kitten, Lila would be able to pass it off as a weirdly specific case of amnesia. 

Chloe would clearly need to rethink her approach to taking on the interloper, but for now she had more important things to focus on; notably that it had also been a week since the first day that Ladybug had appeared on her balcony at the beginning of a rainstorm crying. Six days had passed since Chloe had discreetly slipped a note to Jean Baptiste, requesting a collection of books -- five since she had returned from school to find them stacked on her desk. She started reading immediately. Ladybug seemed determined to come to  _ her _ of all people, and she was going to do her level best not to let her hero down. For the rest of the week, Chloe filled the hours between school and Ladybug’s visits with books on imposter syndrome, on dealing with trauma, and on learning how to move on from broken relationships. (If some of those had hit rather too close to home, well, she’d never admit it.) She’d practiced what advice to give and how to respond in front of her bathroom mirror and strategically placed even more pillows than usual on the couch that Ladybug favored. After all, she was a Bourgeois, and when a Bourgeois wanted something done, it was done  _ right _ . (If she was a bit obsessive about preparing, that could simply be chalked up to never actually having been the one to  _ do _ any of the aforementioned somethings previously.)

What she lacked in experience of these matters, she made up for in enthusiasm, as evidenced by the cup of hot milk and plate of cookies ready in the room at precisely 8:55 on Thursday night, exactly 5 minutes ahead of Ladybug’s arrival. The heroine had taken to arriving at 9:00 and staying until around midnight, clearly wishing to spend as much time as she could in an environment where she didn’t feel the weight of others’ judgments and expectations. (And didn’t  _ that _ just make Chloe cringe with regret at the memories of her first several interactions with the spotted hero.) 

It did appear that miracle of miracles, the visits were actually helping Ladybug. She hadn’t yet been as distraught as she’d been the first night, and for that Chloe was grateful. They’d mostly chatted about lighter topics or watched movies. Once, Ladybug had actually painted Chloe’s nails, as if that hadn’t given her a minor heart attack. Sometime during the evening, if she’d been on patrol or dealing with akumas, or if it had just been a bad day and she’d stayed out too long, Ladybug would take the plate of cookies and head for Chloe’s bathroom, emerging several minutes after she’d gone in. Neither girl verbalized how much  _ trust _ was in that action, but Chloe knew it down to her bones and she sure as hell wasn’t going to make Ladybug regret it. 

She looked down at her watch. 8:59. Any moment now… Her head shot up at the loud noise from her balcony. What the? Ladybug burst into the room like a dervish, panting and shaking. She ran for the hallway and as she passed Chloe, her panicked eyes locked with the blonde’s. 

“I’m not here. If he asks, I’m not here. Please, Chloe.” 

Shocked, Chloe nodded and Ladybug darted inside Chloe’s bedroom and shut the door. 

Warily, Chloe walked over to the open balcony doors and looked outside. What was going on?

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

_Chloe_

As soon as Chloe saw a flash of blonde hair leaping across the street towards her balcony and Chat Noir landed on the stone before her, out of breath, everything made sense.

“Where is --” She didn’t even let him finish asking before she wound up and slapped him in the face. “Ow! Hey, what the --”

“Stop.” She was too angry to fight the urge to flinch as her mother’s voice left her lips. Sharp enough to cut glass and shatter dreams, it stopped Chat Noir mid-sentence. “Sit down,” face hard, she gestured to one of the patio chairs behind him. “We are going to have a conversation, Chat Noir. And you are not going to leave, move, or even open your mouth until I am finished, do you understand?”

Still gaping like a fish, he fell back onto a chair, likely more from shock than anything else. Good. Unfortunately, she didn’t have Pollen or her powers right now, so if he actually decided to fight back there was, realistically speaking, not much she could do. She _hoped_ that he wouldn’t hurt a civilian, but the way he’d apparently just been _chasing_ Ladybug across the city like a goddamn predator was causing her to have second thoughts. It would be better if she could get this all out before he decided how to react. Even if he didn’t listen to her, she could at least give Ladybug time to work out a plan or get away. Keeping her face carefully blank, she delicately lowered herself into a chair across from him, back ramrod straight and ankles crossed, staring dead into his eyes.

“I want you to listen to me _very_ carefully. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you’ve been living under a fucking rock or something and you don’t know the kind of monumental asshole you’re being. I want to tell you a story about my best friend, Adrien. You probably at least know of him, considering his face is plastered across half of Paris. He’s a model, and even though he’s not even in lycee yet, he’s dealt with a gross amount of sexual harassment. Girls will pursue him and hang over him and touch him without his consent. It makes him feel insecure and uncomfortable in his own skin. I can’t even fucking count the number of times I’ve had to step in at a modeling event. I hate those fucking things, I only go because I know that if I don’t keep an eye on Adrien his fucking deadbeat dad won’t either and Adrien’s too unsure of himself to tell people off, even when they’re _harassing_ him. He’s had to take out restraining orders against people and be nervous about _stalkers_ finding him. The things that it’s done to that boy emotionally… it’s really profoundly shitty for anyone to go through. So, imagine my surprise when Ladybug drops by for a visit because there’s apparently no one else she can fucking turn to and starts making the same excuses for her goddamn _partner_ that I’ve heard Adrien make for more than one of his harassers! ‘He doesn’t mean it,’ she said, ‘That’s just how he is,’ she said, ‘I’m just being sensitive and stupid,’ she said.” Chloe’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I really don’t know what your fucking problem is, cat boy, but I suggest that you pull your head out of your ass and stop sexually harassing the partner you’re supposed to be protecting and supporting before you damage her self-image any more. Do I make myself _clear_?”

Chat Noir sat stiffly in his chair, eyes blown wide and mouth gaping. If it had been any other situation, Chloe would have been running for a camera to capture his more-moronic-than-usual expression, but, as it was, she merely continued to glare at him until he jolted out of whatever stupor he’d been in. “But,” he sputtered, “but, it’s different! We’re meant to be! The ladybug and the black cat! _Ladybug and Chat Noir!_ It’s _destiny_! ”

Chloe felt her nails dig into her palms as she fisted her hands. “ _What?_ ” her voice was dangerously low.

Chat didn’t seem to notice her growing rage. “She flirts with me all the time and she kissed me, _twice_. We were _chosen_ for this -- we’re _soulmates_! Why can’t she see that?”

Chloe stepped forward, channeling all of her pent-up anger into her arm, and punched Chat Noir firmly in the face. She felt a stab of righteous satisfaction when she saw the blood dripping from his nose, even if her hand did hurt like _hell_. “Do you have any fucking idea what you sound like right now?” She had lost all control on the volume of her voice and was practically screaming at the superhero sitting before her, clutching his bloody nose. “You sound like one of those psychos who straight up murder women because they won’t talk to them on the fucking street. News flash alley cat, Ladybug is a fucking _human being_. She has her own life and her own feelings and she seems pretty fucking sure that you are, not, in fact, in a relationship and that you’re making her really uncomfortable with your shitty ‘nice-guy’ behavior. You have _no right_ to any emotions or relationship that she does not want to give you because you don’t _own_ her. God, I don’t know what _moron_ picked such an entitled ass to protect Paris, but, if I ever meet him I’ll punch him too. Now, Ladybug has made it clear that she does not want to see you, so I suggest that you scram before I _make_ you, and go have a long, hard think about your behavior, capiche?” She hefted her fists again threateningly and was pleased with the speed at which Chat Noir flung himself off of her balcony and into the night. Well, that was _one_ problem sorted. She turned and walked back through the patio doors of her suite, features melting into a worried frown. _Ladybug._..

_Tikki_

“Spots off!” Marinette choked out as soon as she’d slammed the door of Chloe’s bathroom behind her, sinking to the floor as her transformation faded. Tikki felt herself gather out of the disappearing super suit and flew to hug her chosen’s cheek as soon as she was corporeal. Marinette buried her head in her arms and started sobbing, her entire body shaking. The tiny god’s blood boiled as she wiped away her chosen’s tears with paws that always seemed too small for the girl’s sorrows. She couldn’t believe the _nerve_ of that cat! Not only to be so clingy and prying and personal on a patrol but to chase her bug across the city like he was _hunting_ her afterward? It broke Tikki’s heart to see her chosen so distraught and the last thing she wanted to do was to _leave_ her, even for a moment, but if Chat had come after them, she had to scope out the situation in case they needed to run again. Tikki pressed a kiss to Marinette’s forehead and then floated up to lock the bathroom door before phasing through it.

She moved quietly down the hallway, floating close to the wall where she could easily hide. She peered around the corner toward the balcony doors and was greeted with the sight of Chloe slapping Chat Noir in the face. A bolt of vindictive joy shot through her as Chloe sat her bug’s partner down and gave him a thorough tongue lashing about how he’d been treating Marinette. Well, Ladybug, but tomato, tomato. She nearly flew out of cover, vibrating with anger at the entitled way he talked about her chosen. Because of what, two kisses, one which took place to save him from being brainwashed -- again -- and another that neither of them could remember and some mid-battle banter he thought that she _owed_ him a relationship?! Fortunately, Chloe liked _that_ particular line of thinking about as well as she did and all Chat Noir got out of it was a bloody nose. Tikki watched silently as Chloe chased Chat Noir off of her balcony, clenching her bruised hand and nearly shaking with rage. As soon as he was gone, a change swept over her chosen’s enemy-turned-protector.

Chloe slumped, the anger draining out of her, and turned back towards the balcony doors, a worried frown marring her features. She took a single deep breath, stepped determinedly back inside and looked around. Tikki could still hear the faint sound of her chosen’s sobs down the hallway and, after taking a moment to think about it, she flew out of her hiding place. “Hello, Chloe.”

Chloe’s eyes widened dramatically and her jaw fell open. “You-you're --” she looked down the hallway. “Is she okay?”

The mother in Tikki felt a fierce flash of approval that the first thing that Chloe thought of was her bug. _Good._ She looked back over her shoulder. “She’s… having a tough time. Thank you for what you did for her.”

Chloe glanced back toward the balcony and then down at her bruised knuckles. “I shouldn’t have had to.” She said quietly.

“I know.” Tikki’s voice was understanding as her heart swelled with an unexpected fondness for the girl. She flitted closer and gestured at Chloe’s hand. “May I?”

Chloe looked confused but nodded and Tikki pressed her paws onto the bruises and closed her eyes, concentrating. A moment later she flew away satisfied and Chloe flexed her fingers, surprised that the pain was gone.

“How did -- you know what, never mind. If you can rebuild half the city in half a minute, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.” She shifted her weight from one foot to another. “What should I do now?” The words were uncertain.

“Let’s go see.” Tikki held a small paw out towards Chloe, who reached forward and softly curled her fingers around it and they moved together down the hallway, drawing to a halt outside the bathroom door.

“Ladybug?” Chloe questioned, gingerly laying a hand against the door as muffled sobs sounded from inside.

“Is he gone?” The heroine sniffled.

“Yeah,” Chloe replied. “I sent him packing. He had no right to do that to you.”

“...Thank you.” The words were quiet and still too despondent.

“... I may have punched him in the face.”

That drew a startled watery chuckle out from the other side of the door.

“Ladybug… what can I do?” Chloe’s mouth shaped the words hesitantly.

“I… I don’t know. I guess…” she trailed off.

“What?” Chloe coaxed gently. She’d picked up rather quickly on the fact that Tikki’s chosen was unusually timid when it came to self-advocacy, especially in the face of the bold front she presented towards supervillains. There could be times, Tikki knew well, that trying to encourage Marinette to admit that she wanted or needed something could be not so different from coaxing a wounded animal out of the brush. For all her usual brashness, Chloe was getting better at reading her chosen’s moods and responding accordingly. Not for the first time that week, Tikki bitterly thought that the Bourgeois girl, of all people, would make a better partner for her bug right now.

“I…” Marinette took a large, gasping breath from behind the door. “... A hug. I really, _really_ need a hug right now.”

Chloe looked at the door, at Tikki, and back at the door. Her eyes sparked and she bolted down the hallway towards her bedroom, running back just as quickly clutching a yellow and black scarf in her hand. Upon reaching the bathroom door, she raised her hands and tied the scarf across her eyes as a blindfold.

“Open the door,” Chloe said. “I can’t see you, I promise.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Tikki felt a breeze of displaced air against her form as she saw the door open. She flew down to assume her customary comforting place, nestled against Marinette’s neck as her chosen looked at Chloe with teary eyes. Tikki was nearly dislodged as Marinette threw herself at the blonde, sending both of them to the hallway floor.

_Chloe_

She couldn’t believe it when she’d heard the door open. She believed it even less when she felt Ladybug’s _civilian_ form crash into her, their knees knocking together and Chloe’s elbow banging into the wall behind her as she fell to the floor. She bit back a curse at the tingling that was running down her arm and wrapped her arms around Ladybug’s shoulders. She felt the superheroine’s hands grasp the back of her shirt as she sobbed into her arms. She raised a hand and carded her fingers through Ladybug’s hair, trying to make appropriately soothing sounds.

Chloe was hyper-aware of the warm skin of Ladybug’s arms that brushed against her own. She was glad that Ladybug’s head was buried in her neck because, despite the shitty circumstances, she was sure her face was about as red as Lahiffe’s fucking baseball cap. _This is_ ** _so_ **_not the time, Bourgeois._ After a while, Chloe could feel her legs start to go numb as her body complained from the lack of movement and the presence of a superhero that was about eighty percent on top of her at the moment. She didn’t particularly _want_ to move, but Ladybug’s sobs had trailed off, and she knew that she had to at least try to get the superheroine out of her own head so that she didn’t do something _stupid_ like twist the events of the evening to blame herself.

“So, uh, do you want to watch a movie?”

Ladybug barked out a short laugh and shifted off of Chloe, hands raising to presumably wipe her eyes. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I’d like that.”


	4. Chapter 4

_Plagg_

“Can you _believe_ this Plagg?” Adrien bit out as he grabbed several tissues to staunch the bloody nose that was still oozing despite the long run across the Parisian rooftops he’d had to get back from the Grand Paris Hotel. “I can’t believe that _Chloe_ , of all people, would equate me with _those people_! She just doesn’t understand!” Pausing in his tirade, Adrien looked around, eyes finally landing on Plagg who was floating, deathly still and with slitted eyes, in the place Adrien had detransformed.

For his part, Plagg was _furious_. He couldn’t believe he’d let matters escalate this far, but he honestly hadn’t been aware that his kitten’s mindset had gotten _this_ warped. He knew the kid wasn’t the best at decoding social cues and he’d felt sorry for the boy alone in such a cold home so, yeah, he’d given the kid a couple more passes for behavior than he might have given another chosen. He might not have been the _best_ Black Cat he’d ever had, but he wasn’t the type to go rogue and try to destroy the world, and he didn’t _hurt_ Plagg – all things considered, he’d had _much_ worse wielders in the past and the kid just seemed so _lonely_ … He’d thought that after the whole debacle with the akuma that flooded Paris that things had more or less resolved themselves and, to be honest, he’d never paid much attention to his kitten’s banter with Tikki’s bug. If he’d only paid more attention… Shit, this really wasn’t his strong suit. Tikki was much better at getting through to people. He knew screaming at Adrien would just make him shut down… he needed to be calm, which would be hard.

“Did you ever consider,” Plagg offered in a level voice, “that she might have been right?”

If things hadn’t been so serious, Plagg might have cackled at the poleaxed look on Adrien’s face. “ _What?!_ ”

“Kid, just listen to me,” Plagg sighed. “Let’s go with a hypothetical situation here. Say you were partnered with someone while modeling, and you only worked with that person. You saw that person as your best friend, and you had to rely on them in order for anything to work out at your job. You really like this other person outside of work, but you can’t say anything about it because you don’t want people who know about your job to harass them. You’ve told your partner this, more than once, but they still insist on telling people that the two of you are dating or that you’ll come around to their charms eventually. They derail photoshoots and events by flirting, and you have to do most, if not all, of the work in your partnership. You’re just trying to keep your head down and get your work done, but your partner gets more and more pushy until it’s gotten to the point where they attempt to _physically chase and restrain you_ to demand a date. Adrien, kid, you’re a great black cat, but, _please_ tell me that you see that that’s not a healthy relationship.” Plagg maintained eye contact with his kitten, doing his best to exude the sort of calm and understanding presence that came so naturally to Tikki. _Please, please listen to me_. At the rate things were going, if Adrien didn’t stop what he was doing soon, he’d throw off the balance too far and Plagg would need to take the miraculous back. And Plagg knew, better than anyone, how much Adrien _needed_ Chat Noir. _Please_ , kid.

Adrien looked down at his hands. They sat there for what felt like ages in silence as Adrien thought and Plagg watched over his kitten. He’d never admit it, but the ancient god felt his heart break in his chest when Adrien looked back up at him, anger in his eyes. “ _You_ don’t understand either.”

_Marinette_

Any sense of safety that she’d felt evaporated the second she swung off of Chloe’s balcony and into the night. Marinette took the most roundabout way she could think of home, glancing over her shoulder almost more often than she looked ahead and scanning the surrounding rooftops with wide-blown eyes. When she finally detransformed and collapsed on her chaise, she breathed a sigh of relief. She could feel Tikki huddled in the space where her neck met her shoulder as she took several deep, bracing breaths. Once she felt calm and safe again, she looked up at her room and at the dozens of posters and pictures of Adrien crowded across its walls. She’d considered taking them down for a few weeks now, as Adrien’s inaction against Lila had dampened her crush. But now… She looked down at Tikki and sighed. “This was never healthy, was it?”

Tikki met her eyes with the infinite compassion Marinette was still baffled that she could always count on and hardly felt she deserved and gently shook her head.

“I…” Marinette paused and firmed her jaw. “ _No_. I’m not going to be like that anymore. I’m not going to be like that ever again.” And as the stars above Paris shone down on a city that slept, its heroine moved methodically about her room, taking down posters and schedules and computer backgrounds. When she finished, it looked… empty, but a healthy kind of empty full of promise and possibility. She could already think of so many ways to fill the space she’d freed… but that would be a task for tomorrow.

She felt her eyelids drooping as she crawled into bed and flung one arm over her face. What had happened that night felt so surreal. Then again, the past several weeks had felt entirely like a waking dream – or nightmare. Since Hawkmoth had appeared and she’d become Ladybug for the first time, she’d had to upend her worldview completely, but she’d done that, she’d gotten used to the way things had become. Since Lila arrived back at school everything had been turned on its head once again and Marinette could hardly tell which way was up and which way was down anymore. Alya hadn’t spoken to her kindly in days, her partner was becoming a terrifying stranger, and the only place she felt safe was with _Chloe Bourgeois_ , of all people. She still wasn’t sure why she’d gone to Chloe’s balcony that first night or why she kept returning. Chloe had made her life miserable for _years_ , had beaten down her self-confidence to such an extent that she’d had _no one_ before Alya and had tried to cut her down at every turn for as long as she could remember. Those feelings of anger and despair hadn’t just disappeared – but things were so _complicated_ now… She didn’t know _what_ she felt about Chloe anymore. Well, that wasn’t necessarily something that she had to sort out immediately either. She’d take this one day at a time, and, if Chloe kept improving and really turned into someone she could truly rely on, well, then she’d think about what it would mean to forgive her.

She’d cross that bridge when she got there.

_Tikki_

Tikki gazed down at her sleeping chosen. The determined frown she’d worn while removing all traces of her obsessive crush from her room had faded as she fell asleep. She couldn’t help the proud feeling that welled up in her when Marinette had confronted her own flaws when faced with the more glaring example of her partner’s. She would have been totally within her rights to have let the crying jag that passed at Chloe’s continue longer than she had, but she’d demonstrated true Ladybug strength yet again and learned from another awful situation what she could. Still, the extent to which Plagg’s kitten had damaged her trust in him was worrying – on both sides of the mask.

Tikki heard a whimper and glanced down to see her chosen’s face twisted in a nightmare. “Chat, no… why?” she whispered brokenly. Tikki’s face hardened. That was it – this had gone too far. She was going to Fu. She planted a small kiss on Marinette’s forehead and flew out the window into the night.

She hadn’t even gone a block when she saw Plagg. He was, as she had only seen a handful of times in their eternity together, crying, and he held the ring of the black cat in his paws.

“Plagg?” She questioned gently.

He started when he noticed her and rubbed his eyes. “Hey Tikks,” he sighed.

“What happened?”

“I tried to reason with him Tikks, how he treated your bug wasn’t right. I’m sorry that I let it get that far… he… he wouldn’t listen to me. He won’t acknowledge his faults and that’s playing havoc with the balance. I… I had to take it from him. I waited until he was asleep. He was so _lonely_ Tikks. I know he had a lot of faults, but I… I didn’t want to leave him.”

Tikki wrapped Plagg in a hug and for a moment they simply drifted, silent above the sleeping city.

“We need to find you a new chosen – Ladybug can’t do this alone.”

Plagg sighed. “I know.”

“But first,” Tikki felt a wave of uncharacteristic anger threaten to bubble over, “We need to have a talk with the Guardian.”

_Master Fu_

Wang Fu suddenly shot awake. He looked at the window beside his bed – it was still the middle of the night. Why? He felt an urgent pull inside his chest, below his breastbone. He was being summoned? What had happened? He quickly turned toward the miracle box and was met with the sight of the kwamis of creation and destruction staring solemnly at him. He could read anger in the downturn of Tikki’s eyes and sadness in the way Plagg’s head hung low over his body.

“Tikki? Plagg? What is wrong? Why have you come here without your chosen?”

“The _boy_ you chose to wield the black cat miraculous broke the balance between Plagg and I’s wielders. He has _betrayed_ my chosen on both sides of the mask and just tonight he _hunted_ her across the city in what appeared to be an attempt to physically force her to reciprocate his feelings. You have allowed him to continue in a dangerous mindset unchecked for too long.”

“But –”

“No,” Plagg interrupted. “She’s right. I tried to reason with him, tried to teach him, but he won’t listen to me. He’s closed off our bond, though he doesn’t realize it, and he’s broken the balance entirely. I know the reasons that you chose him for the ring and, for a while, despite his faults, I honestly thought that you made the right decision. But he was so lonely, Fu. You chose a wielder that needed to learn in order to work effectively but who refused to listen to anyone but himself.”

“Now, listen. I cannot justify the risk of bringing in a new wielder this late into the battle against Hawkmoth!” Fu was certain that this was a misunderstanding – he’d made the right decision with Adrien, he was sure of it.

The air in the room stilled and he suddenly found it harder to breathe. Tikki’s eyes narrowed and she began to glow as she loosed some of her aura into the space. “Cannot justify the risk?” her voice echoed in a way that did not fit her size. “What about the risk to my chosen? You may be the guardian of the miracle box, but you forget that you were never formally trained. You forget what your mistakes have already cost. You are _not_ infallible. _You_ are not a god. And that was _not_ a request.”

Fu trembled before her. “V… very well. I shall choose a new –”

“ _We_ shall choose.” Plagg broke in.

“Forgive us if we have lost faith in your judgment.” Bit out Tikki. “And Wayzz?” she acknowledged the turtle kwami that had been waiting, frozen, in a corner of the room for the first time. “Make sure he actually _thinks_ about this mistake.” She met Fu’s eyes one last time, conveying a sense of disappointment and disapproval that almost brought him to his knees, and then wrapped one small arm around Plagg’s shoulders and they flew out the window and into the night.

_Chloe_

Chloe Bourgeois couldn’t sleep. Her confrontation with Chat Noir played over and over again in her head. Her nails dug crescents into her palms as she thought about the _proprietary_ way that the cat had talked about Ladybug and the fear in the heroine’s eyes as she’d tumbled into Chloe’s apartment and run to hide. An uncomfortable pang of guilt ran through her as she thought of her friendship with Sabrina before she’d abandoned her for Lila and her previous self-serving idolatry of Ladybug. _No_. There was no use feeling guilty for her past mistakes. She would apologize, and she would not make them again.

She only wished that she had the power to make her apology to Ladybug mean something more, that she could actually _protect_ her, rather than only being there to pick up the pieces that Hawkmoth or Chat Noir had broken. She started as she heard a soft knock on the glass pane of the balcony door. Rising from her bed, she padded over to see Ladybug’s kwami waiting outside her window with a stormy expression, alongside another kwami, so dark he blended into the night, with piercing green eyes, and… cat ears. Chloe opened the door as quickly as she was able and gestured the two inside.

“What’s wrong? Is he…?” She questioned. If Ladybug’s kwami was here without her, what could have happened? If that cat had gotten her _akumatized_ … And if the other kwami was who she thought…

“Many things,” Tikki replied, “but nothing urgent. There is not an attack, and Ladybug is safe.”

“Then why –?”

“She is safe for now.” The other kwami cut in. He looked like he was struggling to get the next words out. “You’ve seen that her partner has demonstrated that he is almost as present a danger to her as Hawkmoth emotionally. She needs help that she can _trust_ , someone to stand by her against all threats no matter how hard or dangerous things become.” He stared directly at Chloe. There was a pressure behind his gaze that was almost physical, and Chloe fought to not flinch. “Do you think you could do that?”

It took Chloe a moment to register the question. Did she? And then a vision of Ladybug’s eyes, still full of tears, flashed inside her mind. She met his gaze evenly. “Yes.”

For a moment, all was silent as the dark kwami stared into her soul. Chloe could only hope that the tiny god found something worthwhile there. Eventually, he nodded.

“Very well then.” He held up a silver ring in his paws. “Chloe Bourgeois, I am Plagg, the god of destruction. This is the miraculous of the black cat. It represents one half of the universal balance and it grants you my dominion over destruction. You will use it to be Ladybug’s right hand, her shield, her friend, and her support as she will be yours. You will reveal your identity to no one. If at any point you forsake your duty to your partner and to the balance, I will reclaim the miraculous and ensure that you _never_ forget your mistake. Do you understand?”

Chloe’s heart was beating through her chest. “Yes.”

_Tikki_

Tikki landed on the small pillow that Marinette kept beside her bed for her use. She looked at her charge once more. She only hoped that she and Plagg had made the right decision. They didn’t have time to scour the city for a new wielder that was suited for Plagg and the list of those that they knew well enough to consider who would work well with Marinette had gotten much shorter since the arrival of the liar and the discord she had sewn across Marinette’s relationships.

“Don’t worry Marinette,” she mumbled sleepily, “things will turn out all right.” Her eyes drifted close, and she let herself sink into a restful sleep, heartened by the fact that there was now someone she could count on to protect her chosen when she could not.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I know it’s a short update. (Clocking in at a little under 2000 words.) But, I’m traveling and I wrote this between trains. I just really wanted to get something out there. There’s nothing like being noticed by someone you admire to give you a kick in the pants to keep writing! So, @angelofthequeers , this one’s for you. :) 
> 
> Thank you all again so much for your support. I really can’t say how much that means to me!
> 
> I hope the Adrien bits don’t seem forced... I’ve been reading a lot of fluffy Adrinette lately, so it was a bit hard to channel the salt, lol.

_Chloe_

Chloe lay back in bed, hand raised above her, fingers splayed as she looked at the deceptively plain ring she now wore. Her new kwami and partner, Plagg, had sullenly sequestered himself in a far corner of her large room with the cheese plate she’d called up from room service on his request. Her head was still spinning.

Tikki had left after she’d finished explaining the situation. Chloe could see how upset the whole matter had made her, and Plagg for that matter, who had hardly said a word except his weighty declaration upon giving her the ring. When the two kwamis moved to a different corner of the room, speaking in hushed voices and exchanging a tight hug, Chloe had awkwardly turned away. Even in this situation that was so difficult for the two of them, something about the way they seemed to gravitate toward each other made Chloe’s heart clench. After a few minutes, they’d finished their goodbyes. Tikki had nodded once at her and then turned back as she flew towards the window, eyes softening. “Thank you, Chloe. It will be nice to know that someone has her back.”

Chloe had stared at her determinedly. “I won’t let her down.”

“I know.” Tikki had smiled and then vanished into the night.

Chloe wasn’t quite sure what to make of Plagg. He was very different from Pollen… Pollen was kind and quiet. In the few moments Chloe had had with her, she seemed pretty content to cave to Chloe’s judgment. Plagg was gruff and reticent. Although he was a physically small when he’d issued his conditions to her taking the ring his presence had almost choked the air around her. She had no delusions. Plagg might have been tiny, but he was a _god_. She knew that this was a kwami that wouldn’t let their wielder get away with the kinds of things she’d done as Queen Bee at first. She wasn’t going to lie, as frightening as she felt he could be, that was reassuring.

Plagg didn’t seem to want to really talk with her, but he’d explained the powers of the black cat miraculous to her in as much detail as she could wring out of him. She was going to be the best damn superhero partner Ladybug could ever dream of having, and she couldn’t look anything short of competent her first time out.

“The power of destruction must be wielded carefully,” he’d sighed. “Each miraculous needs a certain type of person as its wielder. The Ladybug needs a strategist, first and foremost. The Bee needs a strong, direct will, the Fox an individual who knows the damage a lie can wreak. The miraculous of the Black Cat…” he paused, looking pained, “needs a wielder possessing kindness and pragmatism in equal measure. The power of destruction is not to be wielded lightly. Although destruction can be necessary, it must never be used in excess. This power is chaotic by nature and can be difficult to control. You’ll need to have a steady head – need to know when it is necessary for your power to be used, but you also need to have an unparalleled respect for life, for light, and for creation, and to only use your powers when they are key to upholding their opposite. Do you understand?”

Chloe’s shoulders had curled in as he’d spoken, losing part of their usual pin-straight cast of confidence. “Plagg… I don’t know how much you saw when you were with the previous Chat Noir but…” She clenched her eyes shut. “I’m… I haven’t been a very good person in the past. I know that. It just seemed that every time I tried to let someone in… it didn’t end well. After my Mom… after everything else, I didn’t want to give anyone else enough of me to break. But… Ladybug, Ladybug is the only person I’ve ever met who looked at me and saw someone that was really _worth_ something. She trusted me with the power to save Paris, but also to feel stronger on my own. I… I don’t know if I can promise to be perfect, or even really kind, right away.” Her eyes opened, blinking around tears that had suddenly appeared. “But… I promise to try. For right now… well, I love Ladybug more than I love myself. She saved me in more ways than one, and there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do for her. I’ll support her as best I can, and I’ll listen to you. I’ll learn anything you want to teach me. I – I just want to be _good_ at this. I want to help Ladybug, and I want to help Paris. I want to be a hero that she can be proud of.”

One moment stretched slowly into another as he stared at her with an unreadable gaze, before nodding softly. “That’s enough for now, kid.”

_Marinette_

Marinette awoke to sunlight streaming over her face. She stretched, still half asleep, and curled her toes into the soft blanket. She felt so relaxed… She turned her head and slowly opened her eyes to find Tikki sitting on the small bed she’d fashioned for her, eyes closed as a shimmering red glow emanating from her, covering the entire bed. 

“Tikki? What’s going on?”

Tikki slowly opened her eyes. “Good morning, Marinette. I… I thought that after last night, you deserved a really good night’s sleep. Just think of it as a bit of kwami magic.”

Marinette smiled softly. What had she done to deserve Tikki? “Thank you, Tikki.”

The red glow dissipated as Tikki rose into the air, hovering over her charge. “And, it’s Saturday, which means that you should be able to work on the dress you’ve been meaning to finish!”

Her eyes lit up. “You’re right! I’ve been so busy, but all I have to do this weekend is the history report, and I’ve already picked out my sources, so that shouldn’t take too long!” She rose out of bed, clambered down the ladder to the floor, and stretched, arms raised high over her head.

“… Marinette,” Tikki sounded almost hesitant. “There is something I should tell you before you get to work.”

Marinette looked up at Tikki questioningly. “What is it?”

The tiny god sighed. “Last night… after you went to sleep, I was just so worried about you, and about everything happening with Chat Noir… I was so _angry_. I decided to go to the Guardian to choose a new hero that you could rely on, but… on my way there I ran into Plagg – Chat Noir’s kwami – and… well, he’d decided to leave Chat Noir.”

“W–what?” Whatever she’d been expecting, that was not it.

Tikki barreled on. “We agreed that things had gone too far. The Guardian was so unwilling to believe that he could have made another mistake despite what his last error cost us all.” Marinette had never heard her usually sweet kwami sound so strange and bitter and powerful, but she wasn’t afraid. Her heart warmed knowing the extent to which her kwami had sought to protect her.

“Plagg told me that he’d been trying to counsel his kitten for _months_ , but that every time he’d try to get through to him, he’d either threaten to renounce Plagg or transform! He’s wreaking havoc on the balance between creation and destruction, and, frankly, if we hadn’t done something soon, you’d both be facing side effects from our domains being out of sync. I couldn’t let that happen to you.” Tikki’s voice, which had risen higher and more forceful in her anger suddenly quieted. “I know that it was difficult for Plagg. Despite everything… he loved his kitten. He said that he needed him, that he needed someone…” The anger returned. “But no matter how cold his life is, it doesn’t justify what he’s done!”

“Tikki, Tikki, it’s… okay. I… with everything that’s happening with Chat lately… as much as I wish that I could go back in time to when he was my friend… ” she quieted. “I’ve been messing up in battles. Our dynamic _is_ off, and I’ve been getting really scared that he’s just going to up and quit one day because I turned him down again… I feel like an awful person, but I’m so _relieved_ Tikki.”

Tikki flew down to rest a comforting paw on Marinette’s cheek. “It’s okay, Marinette. Everything’s going to be okay. For now, why don’t we get to work on that dress?”

Marinette nodded and turned towards the half-finished gown on her mannequin with a determined smile. Her kwami was on her side, and, as bittersweet as it was, she had someone new that she could trust to watch her back. For now, Tikki was right – it was time to do something she enjoyed, and she wasn’t going to let anything taint that.

_Plagg_

He’d stared at his new kitten… no, simply his new wielder, (he couldn’t let himself _care_ this fast) as she’d cried. Her opulent room felt just as empty of love as Adrien’s had… and he’d seen her display some of the same selfish behaviors as his previous charge in the past. Why on Earth had Tikki said that this spoiled selfish girl would be a good fit? Gods, he couldn’t bear the thought of another holder going the way Adrien had. Despite all of his faults, Plagg had allowed himself to love Adrien. He’d had many chosen throughout the centuries, and there were a fair few times that he had been misused even as Noroo was now. When he’d first met Adrien, he half wondered if there had been a mistake. The boy didn’t resonate with the ring particularly well, but he was so lonely and so fragile… He’d awakened parental instincts Plagg hadn’t even known he’d had – and Plagg had let him get away with far too much for far too long. He could not make the same mistake again.t

But… beneath it all, and despite everything he knew of the new blonde sitting across from him, he could sense the way that the ring had taken to her – energy already coiling like steel in her soul, drawing out the heart that had been long buried. Against all odds, this Chloe was a _chosen_ , just like Tikki’s bug.

For the first time since Adrien had made the decision to let the people of Paris drown over secrets that were not his to know, Plagg felt something loosen within him where he hadn’t known there had been tension. Maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out all right.

_Adrien_

Adrien woke to sunlight streaming through the window onto his face. He groaned and glanced over at the Ladybug digital clock next to his bedside. 10:00? That was strange… Normally Plagg woke him with demands for cheese before 8:00 on weekends… Well, he wasn’t going to complain about the extra sleep! He ran his left hand through his hair, pushing back the inevitable strands that fell across his face during the night. Then he froze.

Slowly, and with mounting horror, he lowered his hand in front of his face. The ring. It was _gone_. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. I apologize again for how late this is (especially to you, lovely anon). (To make up for my tardiness, it’s extra long.)  
> Now, on with the show!

_Gabriel_

Gabriel Agreste sat at his desk and ran a hand across his face. He was getting a headache again. The feelings of all of Paris pressed down around his mind and he couldn’t help the rising tide of derision at how… _petty_ they all were. How dare these people feel such despair at the most commonplace of everyday mishaps. They didn’t deserve to feel that pain, that anguish. They hadn’t lost _everything_. Raising his head, he turned in his chair to face the portrait of his wife behind his desk. The sun streaming through the windows gave life to the gold of her hair and the emerald green of her eyes. Gabriel reached out a hand towards the painting – and then curled over himself in pain. He fumbled for the buttons that would take him to his lair as his head split apart. God, he had never felt such _despair_. Through the pain, his mouth split open in a shark’s smile and the floor dropped out from underneath him.

“Noroo, dark wings rise!”

As soon as the cold magic of his transformation wrapped around him, Hawkmoth called down a butterfly and reached out with his mind as he poured his energy into it. Just who was this, filled with such pain? This utterly broken soul would be his _masterpiece_ , he could feel it –

“ _Adrien._ ” His lips parted around the name in horror. He threw the butterfly away and whirled on his heel, dropping his transformation as he went. He barely registered Nathalie’s surprise as he ran past her and up the stairs, bursting into his son’s room without consideration for an excuse as to why he’d done so.

He found his son in the wreckage of his room. He looked around with wide eyes at the dismembered foosball table, the upturned couch, the shattered CDs that littered the floor, and the boy in the middle of it all, tears streaming down his face and with an expression of such murderous rage that even Gabriel felt a frisson of fear shoot through him. Adrien muttered something too low for him to hear.

“What did you say, son?”

“She took it from me.” Adrien bit out, mouth cutting around each syllable as though it were a knife. “SHE TOOK IT FROM ME.”

Gabriel was confused. Who could have taken something from his son? What did the boy value enough to feel such rage? He wanted to ask for clarification, but before he could even open his mouth again, Adrien went on, almost growling.

“How dare she?! We were _chosen_ for this – we’re _soulmates_! Why can’t she see that? It’s destiny – the Ladybug and the Black Cat are meant for each other. She can’t love anyone else but me – she’s _mine_! —”

His son was still speaking, but Gabriel could only hear the words “Ladybug” and “Black Cat” as they chased each other around his mind over and over again. His eyes were drawn to Adrien’s hands – and to the stark absence of the ring he’d noticed that his son had taken to wearing.

“So close.” He muttered. “I was so close!” He stepped closer to his son and raised his voice. “Oh Adrien, I understand. You’ve done so much for her – it’s only right that she realizes that.”

Adrien’s face broke wide open like the sun – the model’s smile that he’d spent years cultivating making him look every inch the angel. “I know! Thank you, father!” Then his face twisted down into a snarl again. “You’d be surprised how many people don’t see it that way.”

Gabriel felt his own mouth twist up into a smile. “What if I told you that I have a way for you to make her see?”

“But how? She took my miraculous – what can I do without it?”

“Noroo?” The elder Agreste called for his own kwami, and the timid purple butterfly flew out of his suit pocket.

Surprise played across his son’s face before settling into a feral, cat-like grin.

_Chloe_

“Give me your hand.”

Chloe had been just about ready to head out to meet up with Sabrina for a picnic their class was having in the park when Plagg spoke. She turned to meet his cold green eyes. Her heart sank. It hadn’t even been a day yet and he’d already decided that she was a bad idea. The fact that she’d almost expected it didn’t make it hurt any less. Screwing her eyes shut in a futile attempt to stop the coming tears, she offered her right hand to Plagg, using her left to begin twisting the ring off of her finger. Funny… it had gone on pretty easily, but it was proving a bit difficult to remove…

“What are you doing? Are you giving up already?”

Chloe’s eyes flew open. “I – I thought that you wanted the ring back. That… that you decided that I’m not worthy.”

Plagg huffed in a manner so bizarrely reminiscent of an actual cat that for a second she almost forgot what he was. “No, kid. Tikki trusts you, and that means that you’re the bug’s best hope right now. Frankly, with how Hawkmoth’s been escalating, we really don’t have time to find and train someone new. Unless you really mess up – which you’re not going to” he punctuated his statement with a glare “I’m not going to take the ring back.”

“Then what are you doing?” Chloe blinked back the tears that hadn’t quite fallen, trying to win some composure back so that Plagg would think she was worth his time.

“I need to change what the ring looks like, just in case the previous Chat Noir would see you and figure things out. Just hold on a second.” Plagg placed both tiny paws on the ring on Chloe’s finger and closed his eyes.

The kwami and the ring glowed such a bright green that Chloe had to look away from them. When the light faded, she turned back to find Plagg already halfway across the room swallowing an entire wheel of camembert whole, and a much slimmer gold ring on her finger. She lifted it up to her face, examining the way that the light played across its surface. “Wow.”

“Yes, yes, I know, you’re astonished by my amazing magical powers.” Plagg had flown back over to her, carrying another wheel of camembert in his arms. He held it out towards her. “Now, if we’re going somewhere, put this in your purse.”

Chloe eyed the wheel of cheese with horror. “In my purse?! But – that smells awful! And my purse is _Gucci_!”

“If I’m hungry, I won’t be able to transform you if there’s an akuma, and if I can’t transform you, you won’t be able to help Ladybug,” Plagg stated smugly.

“… Fine.” Chloe took a deep breath and shoved the stinky cheese into her designer purse.

_Adrien_

“Why can’t you just akumatize me?” Adrien asked petulantly. His father and Nathalie were conversing in quiet tones underneath the large butterfly window in what Adrien had discovered to be the lair of Hawkmoth and Mayura.

Nathalie nodded sharply at his father and pulled something from her pocket, pinning it to her lapel. After an explosion of intense blue light, Adrien saw a peacock kwami fluttering affectionately around Nathalie’s head. She offered the small being a piece of chocolate, pulled from another pocket.

Father turned towards him, steepling his fingers in thought. “We must know if a new wielder has been found for the miraculous of the Black Cat. The Guardian may be keeping it still, or he may have hidden it, intending to send Ladybug help in the forms of the other miraculous in his keeping. To rescue your mother – and to make your Lady see sense, of course – we need both miraculous. We will strike our most powerful blow when we have them both in our sights, not a second before.”

Adrien huffed, but make the sort of careless, permissive gesture one might expect from a Prince. “I suppose that makes sense. But the second I see whatever imposter has Plagg…”

His father’s lips quirked up in a malicious grin. “You’ll get your vengeance, son.”

_Chloe_

Chloe arrived at the park fifteen minutes later than she’d planned to see the party in full swing. The class had formed up into a clump around a bench facing away from Chloe and seemed to be very engrossed in conversation with… kwami dammit. Chloe’s eyes rolled skyward and she suddenly acutely regretted letting Sabrina convince her to come out to “hang out” with the class on her precious day off. Of course, they’d all be holding court around sausage hair. Still, she was here, and she was trying to be a better friend to Sabrina. Maybe she could convince the other girl to ditch the rest of the class and they could have a spa day instead? Deciding that the thought had merit, she approached the class.

“I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.” Chloe barely restrained a laugh at the liar’s honestly horrific fake crying but sobered as she continued. “I’m sure that Marinette just forgot that she told me she’d bring the picnic blankets and snacks today. I was just so excited about today! I’ve had to miss so many of the class events because I’ve been so busy working with Prince Ali on my environmental initiative… I – no, that’s silly.”

Alix leaned forward like the Italian’s ridiculous hair had some sort of gravitational pull. “What is it, Lila?”

Rossi made a rather unconvincing show of pretending that she had something that she shouldn’t say before simpering “Well… I almost wonder if she didn’t come on purpose.” She raised her hands like she’d said something the rest of the class wouldn’t like and didn’t want them to be mad at her. “I mean… I know that you all really want to believe the best in her, but Marinette has been awful to me ever since I transferred here! She says such awful things to me when none of you are around to hear. Honestly… if you all weren’t such good friends, I probably would have transferred schools by now just to get away from her. Even when I asked her about having this picnic, she told me that she’d tell the rest of you to come. If I hadn’t texted you all separately, would anyone have even shown up? Or would I be sitting here all alone again?” Rossi hid her head in her hands as she started crying, presumably preventing the rest of the sheep in their class from realizing that no actual tears were falling.

Chloe’s heart sank as she looked at the rest of the class. It looked as though a verbal bomb had been detonated. While a few (Cesaire and Lahiffe) hung back and looked uncertain, no one was exactly jumping to defend Dupain-Cheng from Rossi’s accusations. Worse, others, like Alix and Kim, were starting to look absolutely murderous. Did they actually believe this shit?! And then, just when she thought the situation couldn’t possibly get any worse, Chloe spotted a flash of blue hair over Max’s shoulder. _Shit._ She wasn’t the only one who noticed. _Double shit._ She tried to make gestures at Dupain-Cheng to get her erstwhile nemesis to turn around, but Kubdel was already up off the ground and halfway to the bluenette. Without really thinking about it, Chloe ran after her.

“Some fucking nerve you have showing up here! Did you come to laugh at her?!” The pink-haired girl was inside Dupain-Cheng’s space, shouting in her face.

“I – don’t – what?” The bluenette was understandably confused, but this only seemed to make the other girl angrier. She raised a hand as if to slap Mari- Dupain-Cheng, and Chloe was moving before her mind caught up with her. She jumped between the other two girls, grabbing Kubel’s wrist before it could hit its mark.

“ _What_ do you think you’re doing?” She hissed.

_Marinette_

Chloe Bourgeois was standing up for her. _Her_ – _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_ – not Ladybug. And Alix had been about to – No. She couldn’t hear what Chloe was saying to Alix over the roaring in her ears. Her eyes drifted over the blonde’s shoulder and landed on the rest of her class gathered around a bench on which Lila Rossi was sitting, face twisted in a poor approximation of despair. Her scattered mind began putting the pieces together. She met Alya’s eyes amid the crowd. Bright, warm, fearless Alya. The first best friend she’d ever had. The other girl looked at her with something like regret, one hand stretched out as if she meant to come to her side – and then the moment passed, Rose grabbed her arm and she looked away. Still, Marinette couldn’t quite suppress the flicker of hope. Maybe Alya was starting to see. Maybe, despite everything, she could get her friend back.

Marinette was brought back to herself by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Chloe stood in front of her, looking profoundly uncomfortable. “-Cheng. Dupain-Cheng… Marinette, are you okay?”

She opened and closed her mouth several times. Was she okay? Honestly, she didn’t know. She was so _tired_ , of Lila, of Hawkmoth, of Chat, of _everything_. She gave a minute shake of her head and pitched forward into Chloe’s arms, seeking out the embrace that had kept her sane over the past month. It wasn’t until the blonde stiffened against her that she realized that she was Marinette now, not Ladybug. Chloe didn’t… She tore herself backward, took one glance at the confused blue eyes in front of her, and she ran.

_Nathalie_

Mayura landed gently on the top of the Eiffel Tower. She extended one hand to brace herself on the metal supports and reached into a pocket with the other to bring out a nondescript pen that she’d grabbed from her desk. She grabbed a feather from her fan, focusing her thoughts and the power coursing through her until the feather joined with the pen, a bubbling dark mass springing into being before her as her sentimonster was created.

The large being stood in front of her, what passed for a face level with hers as it clung to the tower with heavy limbs.

“I am your Master, Mayura.” She told the thing that she’d made. “Go into the city and destroy it. Draw out the heroes and hurt them.”

_Chloe_

Chloe heard the crash almost as soon as Marinette had run off. She shook herself out of her confusion and looked over the rooftops for the noise. In the distance and saw what looked like a large monster trampling through the city. She swore underneath her breath and used the confusion that had suddenly overtaken the park to dash to an isolated alleyway, opening her purse once she was sure no one could see her. Plagg emerged, looking serious.

“Are you ready kid?” He asked her.

She looked back at him with determination in her eyes. She would _not_ let Ladybug down. “Plagg, claws out!”

The energy that washed over her was colder and less controlled than Pollen’s warm light. It felt almost like standing in the middle of a raging storm, with dark lightning lancing along her skin. She’d thought she’d known what being a superhero felt like – what power felt like. She had been wrong. She felt the power of destruction roiling inside her and shuddered at the thought of the previous Chat Noir with this energy at his fingertips. No. It was _hers_ now. And she would protect it and Ladybug both. She grasped her baton in a daintily clawed hand and sprung up onto the rooftops of Paris.

She wasn’t quite as fast as she’d been as Queen Bee, but she could feel the strength in the magically reinforced black leather of her armor and knew that she’d pack much more of a punch in a fight. Still, it didn’t take long to cross the expanse of Paris between her and the akuma? Sentimonster? She paused behind a chimney to observe the monster, see if she could locate the object that needed to be broken… But its indigo skin seemed almost formless – it didn’t look like it could hide any sort of object. Shit. She wanted to look longer, to see if there was anything that she had missed, but the beast moved forward, one giant leg descending towards a mother desperately trying to remove a baby from a stroller whose wheel had caught in a crack in the road.

And just as she had not five minutes earlier, Chloe moved without thought, leaping down into the street below.

_Marinette_

Stupid. _STUPID._ She couldn’t believe that she’d messed up like that with Chloe. She didn’t stop running until she was sure she hadn’t been followed, ducking into an alleyway and leaning over, hands on her knees, breathing heavily.

“Marinette, are you okay?”

She looked down at Tikki’s concerned face and attempted a smile. “Yeah, you know. My friend tried to hit me and my bully-turned-only-person-keeping-me-sane stood up for me without realizing that it was me –” she laughed almost hysterically and ran a hand through her hair. Her kwami was still looking at her, large blue eyes filled with concern. Then, she heard the crashes and the screaming. Her face hardened. “We can talk about this later.”

“We _will_ talk about this later.” Tikki looked unusually stern. Marinette’s lips quirked up at her kwami’s protectiveness.

“Tikki, spots on!”

The familiar warmth of Tikki’s magic washed over her, and Ladybug jumped onto the roofs of Paris, already running towards the trouble in her city. She saw the large monster from a distance – it was hard to miss, a ten-story tall formless shifting mass of blue and purple with arms and legs like clubs. Her heart dropped. It was _huge_. And she couldn’t count on Chat… who knew what her new partner was going to be like… She was on her own. Her yo-yo deposited her on a rooftop just behind the monster and her eyes roved over its form desperately, looking for any sort of object.

Too late she noticed one of its large feet hurtling toward the earth, and toward a mother and her child unable to flee fast enough. She flung herself in motion, but she knew she wouldn’t reach them in time – but then a figure all in black swooped down and grabbed both mother and child, leaping away from the chaos and leaving the civilians safe. The new Cat – her new partner – leapt up onto the roof just ahead of the monster. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” She challenged.

For a moment, Ladybug simply looked at the new hero. Her weight rested indolently on one leg, a daintily clawed hand resting on a cocked hip. Golden piping ran down her costume in the same color as the ponytail that waved behind her like a banner and the slitted cats eyes that glinted from her mask. Then, the monster roared and her new partner’s golden baton extended and she leaped forward, claws bared.

Relief shot through her. Although she hadn’t yet spoken to or truly taken the measure of this new partner, she held onto the thought that Tikki had chosen whoever it was and that they would have her back. She wouldn’t have to do this alone anymore. She ran forward, jumping off of the roof she was on and throwing her yo-yo at the monster’s head, trusting it to catch her. She had a partner to help.

_Adrien_

Adrien looked up as a beeping emerged from a screen in his father’s – Hawkmoth’s – staff. Nathalie – Mayura – must have sent him a message.

His father turned back toward him, eyes glinting inside his mask. “It appears that they’ve replaced you with an imposter after all.” He reached out a hand, and a white butterfly landed on his glove, beginning to glow with a corrupted purple light. “Chat Blanc, I can give you the power of unlimited destruction to win back your rightful place.”

He clenched his fists so hard that his nails drew blood.

“With pleasure, Hawkmoth.”


End file.
